Kansas
Judge rules Kan. city violated free speech rights
Associated Press - September 16, 2009 5:54 PM ET
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A federal judge says the city of Mulvane violated a woman's free speech rights when police led her from a public forum on a casino project in the southern Kansas city.
In an opinion issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Monti Belot said Jacque Farnsworth is entitled to $1 in damages plus attorney fees and costs.
But the judge denied any award for compensatory damages, ruling that Farnsworth did not prove an actual injury.
Farnsworth's lawsuit claimed the city of Mulvane censored people who spoke against the proposed casino project at a city council forum in January 2008.
Farnsworth is being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a religious advocacy group based in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed."
